Do you tend to follow existing recipes and change them around a little, or do you sit down with a hook and just go at it. Whatever gets wrapped gets wrapped?

I lean more towards the go at it side I think. I have a few recipes that I follow, copy other flies I like etc. But the majority of what I tie is just me sitting there and trying different combinations of stuff on a hook.

Anyone got any ugly junk they tried thinking it was a good idea but ended up looking like a dead sea gull? Lets see thoseflies you wouldn't even throw to bluefish...I have a bunch I will share a few soon. just gotta take pics...

Smcdermott

04-22-2004, 10:27 AM

That's what a razor blade or a sharp knife is for. I have started to see the value in tying on some nice hooks for certain flies so I salvage anything that is not box quality. I also tend to just sit down and tie what comes to mind during the winter but in the summer I tend to be a maitenance tier and just replace what gets lost destroyed.

Sean

StriperSniper

04-22-2004, 10:38 AM

My first attempt at a Puglisi Bunker using his material....I watched him at the Somerset show and I said "Boy that looks easy enough" . I bought a bunch of Puglisi fibers sat down at my bench and when I was done I had something that looked like it smashed into my windshield on the Garden State Parkway :brow

Practice makes perfect.....

StriperSniper

mdrew9

04-22-2004, 10:54 AM

I got a couple I think you saw one of them. I also did a hytie of EP fibers that was like a 1lb fish looking block of material. I don't think you could hook yourself on it if you tried. I also did another one short zonker strip with flash around it coated with epoxy and I think a little too much got coated with epoxy, it was one of the first flies I tied.

Bob Parsons

04-22-2004, 11:06 AM

Never tied a fly that I would not consider "not even bluefish material"

Sentience

04-22-2004, 11:37 AM

I do pretty much the same as sean mcdermott - tie for interest and fun in the winter (as well as utility) and replenishment in the summer.

This year I learned to tie a few less in the winter and spend more time on each fly. In the past years I would guess at what I needed and then end up tying what I really needed in the summer. So if I caught a lot of fish on one fly and figured something out I would go home and tie a bunch more. This then leads to a lot of fly giveaways on this board the next winter. And I still have way too many flies anyway.

Also, I always look at the flies that I tied the prior years and think they are awful. But blues will definitely eat them.

tyguy

04-22-2004, 03:57 PM

I tend to tie on the fly (pardon the pun).

I usually sit down at the vice and just start creating, trying a little of this and a little of that - or more accurately, too much of this and not enough of that! As a result, I do end up with my share of "junkyard flies", to be stripped at a later date, but it's all worth the lessons learned.

However, I now have a bunch of go-to recipes that I rarely change, except for colors of course. Once I've got an experimental pattern nailed, I tend to stick with it.

The water temps are up, my fly boxes are full, and I'm itching to wet a line...

Ray

04-22-2004, 04:00 PM

1. Listen a Sox Game

2. Find new ways to remove superglue bottle from fingers

CharlieP

04-23-2004, 10:45 PM

funny you mention the super glue, ray. i christened a new bottle yesterday afternoon. thankfully, the lady had plenty of fingernail polish remover to help me out.

1. tie one of the go-to's like a clouser/half and half/deceiver

2. pour a glenlivet and try something new. that way, if the new fly is ugly enough to scare the stripers away, at least i enjoyed a good scotch.

charlie

tyguy

04-24-2004, 10:17 AM

Sort of fly releated - I was sitting at my bench when this happened:

My wife, whom I love dearly, has a way of "letting me know" when something needs fixed. Usually, a broken something-or-other is placed neatly in front of my vise, awaiting my arrival and expertise with the super glue bottle.

In this particular case, a broken antique casserole lid was the project of the day. I inspected the pieces, decided it was fixable and proceeded to add a few drops of super glue to it's broken edges. Low and behold, as I lined the two pieces up and held them in place, I suddenly realized my middle finger of my left hand was now permanently attached to said lid. In my panic, the lid pieces separated from each other, but not my finger. So, here I am now with not one but two sharp pieces of casserole lid dangling from my middle digit.

It took a little effort and alot of fingernail polish remover, but I managed to save the finger, minus a little skin. The lid is now epoxied together... ;)

Pucho

04-24-2004, 10:33 AM

Been there done that....LOL, i have super glue many parts of my body --124-3 , but lately finger to flies, feathers and lots of othrer material
that is why i got the new brush on super glue from loctiteis a screw on top with a brush and it works greta with flies.
Pucho --127-3-